A Case Study in Process Improvement to Minimize Delays from Obtaining Blood for Red Cell Exchange for a Patient with Sickle Cell Disease and Multiple Red Blood Cell Alloantibodies

The process of procuring several units of red blood cells for red cell exchange can sometimes take several hours to days, especially for patients with multiple clinically significant red cell alloantibodies. This can introduce delays, inconveniences, and even health challenges for the patient. For most planned exchanges, these delays are preventable with some foresight and process modifications that are relatively minor yet high leverage. We report a case study of process improvement whereby the apheresis nurse sends an e-mail to the blood bank when the nurse makes the patient’s next red cell exchange appointment as the signal to order blood about 6–8 weeks before the exchange.

Decision-Making Taxonomy of DevOps Success Factors Using Preference Ranking Organization Method of Enrichment Evaluation

Due to multitudes factors like rapid change in technology, customer needs, and business trends, the software organizations are facing pressure to deliver quality software on time. To address this concern, the software industry is continually looking the solution to improve processing timeline. Thus, the Development and Operations (DevOps) has gained a wide popularity in recent era, and several organizations are adopting it, to leverage its perceived benefits. However, companies are facing several problems while executing the DevOps practices. The objective of this work is to identify the DevOps success factors that will help in DevOps process improvement. To accomplish this research firstly, a systematic literature review is conducted to identify the factors having positive influence on DevOps. Secondly, success factors were mapped with DevOps principles, i.e., culture, automation, measurement, and sharing. Thirdly, the identified success factors and their mapping were further verified with industry experts via questionnaire survey. In the last step, the PROMETHEE-II method has been adopted to prioritize and investigate logical relationship of success factors concerning their criticality for DevOps process. This study’s outcomes portray the taxonomy of the success factors, which help the experts design the new strategies that are effective for DevOps process improvement.

A practical framework for achieving value creation and capture in healthcare through process improvement

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the concept of value in healthcare through a practical appraisal of the applicability of a conceptual framework, which is aimed at supporting the measurement and realisation of financial benefits from process improvement (PI) activities in a hospital setting.Design/methodology/approachA single case study of a hospital system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was used to assess the applicability of the framework. The study sought to verify the framework's intention, that PI methods could be used to address known wastes that contribute to the cost of providing healthcare. The case study examines the current approach taken by the hospital to measure and realise financial benefits from PI activities and compares these to the components of the Strategy to Balance Cost and Quality in Health Care framework to assess its applicability in practice.FindingsThe case study revealed that the steps described in the framework were fundamentally in place albeit with some variation. Importantly, the case study identified an additional step that could be added into the framework to support hospitals to better define their portfolio of initiatives to deliver value. The case study also clarified three types of contributory elements that should be in place for the application of the framework to be successful.Practical implicationsThe Framework to Achieve Value in Healthcare is offered to hospitals as a model by which they can look to reduce expenditure through the removal of non-value adding activities. The modification to the conceptual framework has arisen from a single case study and would benefit from further testing by other hospitals in other policy settings (i.e. other countries).Originality/valueThis is the first paper to examine and enhance an existing framework to assist hospitals balance cost and quality through PI.

Software Development for Information System - Achieving Optimum Quality with Security

Information Systems acquisition, implementation, and development have been taking place in business organization to gain the competitive advantage. Rapid advancement of Technology is also popping up unethical issues involving violations of End users' data protection and privacy. This article discusses standard quality practices adhere to which a good quality software product is guaranteed while supporting the organizational strategic needs. It presents a framework that bridges Quality software development process improvement with strategic needs of an organization. Standard practices under consideration includes Capability Maturity Model for Development (CMMI-DEV) while using multi-model Process Improvement approach where an organization could use Balance Score Card technique while setting its strategic goals and monitoring their performance related to Information System development, and also link it with Information System management framework “Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology” (COBIT) - 5 released by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), so that users could easily switch between the two standards. In last benefits are reported for using quality practices to realize attainment of competitive advantage.

The Moderator of Innovation Culture and the Mediator of Realized Absorptive Capacity in Enhancing Organizations' Absorptive Capacity for SPI Success

Software process improvement (SPI) is critical to information system development. In the context of successful SPI, this research focuses on a firm's dynamic learning ability to see how it facilitates an effective means of acquiring and utilizing external SPI knowledge in responding to changing software development environments. Specifically, the authors propose a research model to investigate how two mechanisms of absorptive capacity are incorporated with innovation culture as a contextual factor to enable successful software process improvement. A survey was conducted including 125 SPI certified firms in China and Taiwan to examine the model. The findings indicate that a firm's potential absorptive capacity significantly influences realized absorptive capacity, which has a significant impact on SPI success and acts as a partial mediator between potential absorptive capacity and SPI success. Moreover, the results suggest that the mediating effect of potential absorptive capacity on SPI success via realized absorptive capacity is amplified when innovation culture is imposed.

Developing a Process Improvement Request System at SUNY Empire State College

This paper presents the Process Improvement Request System initiated at SUNY Empire State College as a case study for institutional change management. Through this system, employees can submit suggestions for improving any kind of institutional processes at the college using an Information Technology “ticketing” system like the one used for technical issues. These communications are addressed, tracked, and stored by the Process Improvement Committee which includes representatives from all areas of the college. The Process Improvement Request System addresses many critical goals including 1) the storage of process issues, concerns, and suggestions; 2) a mechanism for addressing these; 3) open access to all employees (and to students through employee representatives) to submit ideas; 4) the ability to make suggestions about all levels of process issues, from college wide to personnel specific; 5) anonymity for making a request when desired; and 6) a feedback loop about the effectiveness of new processes. In this paper, the essential aspects of this project are discussed and analyzed. The paper also enables readers to ascertain the viability of such a project at their campuses and invites them to reach out to the authors if they have questions about doing so.

Exploring the Application of Lean Best Practices in Remanufacturing: Empirical Insights into the Benefits and Barriers

Remanufacturing processes have been widely identified as being important elements of a sustainable economy. However, the commercial viability of this product recovery route is significantly influenced by several operational challenges that are different from those that occur in conventional manufacturing. One of the most widely used systematic process improvement methods in conventional manufacturing is lean production, which seeks to minimize all forms of waste throughout an operation. As the academic study of lean best practices in remanufacturing processes is relatively new, there is a lack of knowledge regarding implementation and impact. As such, this paper presents multiple case studies investigating the application of lean methods in industrial remanufacturing operations. These studies focus on the automotive industry, where both conventional and remanufacturing operations have been the leading adopters of lean thinking and practice. The results of the investigation identify specific lean methods that help manage the inherent complexity of the remanufacturing processes, and consequently improve the overall productivity of the process. Similarly, factors that limit the application of lean practices within remanufacturing are also identified and discussed. Matrices for opportunities and threats are developed to enable the simple adoption of these findings. Overall, the research provides a more holistic understanding of the application of lean within a remanufacturing environment, with benefits for both academia and industry.